Are you someone who is always applauded for his or her baking skills? Why not turn that passion and creativity into something you can have an income from?
Starting a home based cake baking business in Kenya is not that hard. You might feel overwhelmed at first, but if you have the will and the passion, then a little bit of overwhelming should not scare you away.
People usually shy away from even thinking about starting a baking business because their minds automatically start thinking about the efforts involved in starting a good bakery shop. But it does not have to be necessarily the first step.
If you only want to dip your toes in the water, then the most important question to ask yourself is how to start a bakery business from home? In this article, we will see how to start a bakery business from home.
CAPITAL
When thinking about starting a business, one of the first things that comes to mind is capital. Do we have enough capital to invest? What if it does not work and we lose everything? What if the capital I have is not enough?
Starting a bakery at home is relatively cheaper than starting other similar businesses such as restaurants and cafés.
You do not have to invest in the location, the design of the outlet, the huge machines, or rent out a shop. All you need is your home kitchen and the supplies. So comparatively, the cost incurred will be very low.
So, arranging capital for your home-based bakery should not be that difficult as the amount required is significantly less.
DESIGNING YOUR MENU
If you love baking and feel passionate about it, then you probably already know what you want to sell.
The food and beverage industry is extremely competitive, more so for bakeries, so you need to think about what will divert traffic from other bakeries to you.
You need to come up with a unique selling point that sets you apart from the rest. Perhaps something you offer that others don’t.
Prepare a menu that has unique items not necessarily in the name, but definitely in taste.
We have seen renowned bakeries and café’s that get their fame only because one dish turns out to be a jackpot for them. This can be the case for your home-based bakery as well.
AVOID DISTRACTIONS
It is important to have a space where it feels like you are actually working and not just cooking food for home. This will keep you motivated and keep the quality of your bakery items up to the mark.
Your family and the people that live with you need to understand that you’re at work and therefore give you the space you need. It’s very easy to get distracted when working from home.
One thing you should never compromise on is the quality of your products. If your budget allows, invest in quality baking equipment.
MARKETING
One drawback when starting a home-based bakery is that it is hard to grab people’s attention. You cannot physically display your products for people to see.
Your marketing strategies are going to be limited to platforms like social media and word of mouth. Take the time to come up with an exceptional marketing plan before launching.
Social media can play a massive role in making your business successful in a relatively short period.
Create an account on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Have a good theme that attracts users. Upload high quality pictures of the items that you bake.
One other way to gain quick popularity is to send PR packages to those who already have a lot of followers so that once they review your bakery goods, their followers might get tempted to order from you as well.
DELIVERY
Since you don’t have a physical outlet, you’ll probably have to organize deliveries to your customers. For security reasons, delivering is better than having strangers come to your home to pick up the products.
You can make arrangements with a rider such that they are in charge of deliveries while you only focus on production. The delivery cost can either be shared with the customers, or it can be factored into the price of the products.